A platter of my life experiences..

Strong daughters, the need of the hour

Just couldn’t resist myself from posting this. Read in a group how a little girl’s mother cut her daughter’s long hair to make her look “ugly” so that she isn’t noticeable in this big bad world! Really?

I too have a daughter who is beautiful, extremely expressive, vivacious, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about her or the way she is. She is at a stage where she is growing up and at a risk of all kind of stares and later on may be comments from unscrupulous people. What do I do? Do I keep her locked in the house, ask her to speak or laugh in measured tones, ask her dress drab, ask her to stop interacting with people? I would rather make her fearless and make her ready to take on the world instead of getting her to withdraw in a shell. Yes, the world is a scary place and like any other mother I am also scared about the well being and safety of my daughter. But making her look “ugly” or be inconsequential is not the solution. People who are perverts don’t look at the age, gender or “looks” for that matter.

The message given out to that little girl is become subdued; give in to the society’s age-old traditions where girls are subjugated and treated as objects or later keep mum whenever they are facing any injustice, be it from outsiders or from husband or in-laws!

Despite all the fears that I have, I will raise my daughter to be fearless and I hope all mothers out there raise their daughters to be fearless and confident.